On stage: Comfort and joy fill 'Christmas Carol'

Wednesday

Dec 6, 2017 at 4:01 PMDec 7, 2017 at 10:40 AM

By Iris Fanger/For The Patriot Ledger

The new production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, is as much a fairy tale as a ghost story, inhabited by one of the most endearing bands of sprites in the city this season. A trio of children, cast primarily as the Cratchit family, are sprinkled among the grownups in the show to bring a sense of wonder, curiosity and just plain adorableness to the beloved classic, led by the winsome Ben Choi-Harris of Boston as Tiny Tim.

Under the direction of Debra Wise, who also adapted the source material, the children are as natural on stage as on a playground. Like the adult actors around them, the children change roles often, even serving as stage hands to help move the scenery and sprinkle handfuls of snow. No less engaging are those ghosts who visit Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve, starting with Jacob Marley (the fearsome Ramona Lisa Alexander), wrapped in chains and risen from the dead after seven years. Marley sends the genial Ghost of Christmas Present (Vincent Ernest Siders in a welcome return), who beats a calypso drum to emphasize his mission. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Mesma Belsare) arrives before him, in the shape of a classical Indian dancer to begin Scrooge’s long night of transformation.

To be sure, every version of “A Christmas Carol” must be centered by its Scrooge, here played by the veteran actor, Ken Cheeseman who is smart enough to low-pedal the character’s black-hearted villainy and selfishness, making him believable rather than comical. Cheeseman plays him as a rational, older man, set in his ways, who has been lured into a life that offers more rewards from a pile of money than from family or friends. This quasi-reasonable approach, cloaked in a polite but firm manner, allows his turn-around at the end to be even more satisfactory, if not surprising as he giggles with pleasure at getting a second chance in life, and clicks his heels at the sheer joy of the holiday.

Scrooge’s companions include his clerk, Bob Cratchit ( a sympathetic Jesse Garlick) and his nephew, Fred ( a determined David Keohane). Mrs. Cratchit, the hard-working wife and mother is brought to life by Caitlin Cjerdrum,.

Here let’s raise an appreciative cheer for nepotism. Wise’s husband, David Fichter, designed the highly imaginative sets that surround the audience, the charming miniature houses trundled in on small wagons by members of the cast to suggest the various London neighborhoods, and the fistful of innovative puppets. Fichter rolled a suggestion of modern times into the scenery by including a large portrait of Donald Duck as Scrooge on one of the walls. Eliza Rose Fichter, the multi-gifted daughter of Wise and Fichter, is chief musician as the strolling fiddler, as well as appearing as Martha, the eldest Cratchit daughter, and Belle, the woman who sadly spurns the young Scrooge’s love when greed overtakes him.

John R. Malinowski lighted the stage in spooky shades and mini-house in which shadows glow from within in their windows . Leslie Held contributed the wildly colorful and extravagant costumes. Susan Dibble has choreographed the movement throughout the show, including an invitation for the viewers to join the actors at the Fezziwig ball.

If there’s a quibble with this new holiday treat, it’s in the delivery of the narration and dialogue, taken directly from Dickens’ writing. Some of the actors affect a British accent which sometimes garbles the words, while others do not. Despite this inconsistency, the show not only delivers the intent of the true meaning of Christmas in caring for others instead of oneself but also the delight of two hours of entertaining spectacle, wrapped in story, music and dance.

Note: The children in the Central Square Theater production are double cast, appearing at various performances: Zoe Adams Martin from Canton, Ryker Christensen of Boston’s South End, Matilda Fletcher, Anatoly Fateyev Heimowitz of Melrose and Sean Verre of Dorchester.